Egypt announces accession to Kigali agreement’s principles

CAIRO – 15 November 2018: The Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced Thursday, Nov. 15 Egypt's accession to the Kigali agreement’s principles for the protection of civilians in peacekeeping operations. Egypt’s decision is based on the country’s belief in the leading role of the UN peacekeeping operations in achieving peace, security and stability and its commitment to achieving peace in the African continent, where most UN peacekeeping operations take place, an official statement read. Egypt is currently ranked seventh in the world among the largest states concerning the provision of military and police forces to these operations. Egypt comes second concerning the provision of military experts. Egypt is currently involved in six UN peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, the Central African Republic, Darfur and other peacekeeping missions. Egypt’s first contribution to UN peacekeeping goes back to 1960 in the Congo. The Congo operation was the first large-scale peacekeeping operation, with nearly 20,000 military personnel. A total of 250 UN personnel died while serving in that operation, including then-Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold. Since then, Egypt has contributed to 37 UN operations with over 30,000 peacekeepers deployed in 24 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, serving under the flag of the UN. According to the Cairo Center for Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping in Africa, 28 Egyptian peacekeepers lost their lives while serving in peacekeeping operations. In Africa, Egypt participates in all UN peacekeeping operations through contributing elements from the Armed Forces and police, including observers. The total number of contributed Egyptian personnel reached 2,809 in March 2016. “Since 1948, more than a million women and men have served in the UN peacekeeping forces,” the UN wrote on Twitter in April, adding that Egypt participates in the peacekeeping missions with over 3,200 troops and policemen. Additional reporting by Fatima al-Wahaidy